Paquibato

Military Says NPA Claim of Paquibato Victory Is ?Pure Hogwash?

DAVAO CITY ? The armed forces last week described as ?hogwash? the claim early this month by the communist New People?s Army that it is winning over the residents of Paquibato District, a hinterland part of the city where soldiers and rebels often clash.

?The New People?s Army?s claims of winning in Paquibato area is pure hogwash, not worth even a small attention,? Major Jose Marie R. Cuerpo II, the commander of the military?s 5th Civil Relations Group in the region said.

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How to Bully Councilors and Get Away With It

It is the duty of the City Council to stick its nose into anything that concerns the people. Councilors should not allow one arrogant colonel to redefine what democracy mandates them to do.


Commentary: HACKLES By Carlos H. CondeDAVAO CITY ? Task Force Davao was created in 2003, in the aftermath of the bombings in this city in April of that year, solely for this purpose: to fight terrorism. Since then, however, it has metamorphosed into something else.

I?m not talking about the fact that the TFD, which is dominated by the military, has practically usurped the functions of the police, or that the ubiquitous presence of TFD troops has made the city look like a garrison. I?m talking about something far more pernicious.

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In Paquibato, a `Sham’ Public Hearing on Atrocities

What was billed as the City Council’s public hearing to get Paquibato residents to talk about the atrocities in the district turned into a display of official indifference and, according to witnesses and victims, arrogance.

Col. Mirar, Councilor Militar and Col. del Rosario

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

Photos by Barry Ohaylan

PAQUIBATO, Davao City ? Lenny Nacua wanted officials to hear what happened to her son, and perhaps get some assurance that justice wouldbe done.

So on Wednesday, April 5, Nacua mustered the courage to face the officials onstage ? city councilors, police and military officials, Lumad leaders ? during the City Council’s public hearing here on the killings and violence in Paquibato District allegedly perpetrated by a group of bandits.
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Alamara Disbandment Sought to End Terror in Paquibato

Paquibato leaders decry continued harassment of residents despite military?s assurance

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY ? The disbandment of paramilitary units and the withdrawal of the firearms issued to them by the Philippine Army are some of the recommendations put forward in a City Council hearing last week that looked into the atrocities allegedly perpetrated by the dreaded Alamara in Paquibato District, this city.

An 8 p.m. curfew in the whole of Paquibato was also suggested to the military to distinguish residents from the bandits who are said to be terrorizing residents in the hinterland area.

These suggestions came up during the investigation launched this week by the City Council committees on civil, political and human rights, and peace and public safety.

The investigation was prompted by the massive evacuation in recent weeks of Paquibato residents, which were in turn triggered by several unsolved murders in the area and the harassments allegedly by the Alamara, a group of armed Lumads allegedly created and controlled by the military to assist in its counter-insurgency operations in Paquibato.

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2 More Paquibato Residents Killed as Bandits Continue Rampage

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY — Two more residents in Paquibato were killed last week, the latest in the spate of killings in the hinterland district allegedly perpetrated by a bandit group that has ties to the military.

The victims, who came from different areas in Malabog, a village in Paquibato, had been stabbed; one of them, a 25-year-old man identified only as Luciano, was slashed in the neck. The other victim, Reynaldo Ca?ete, 35, also lost his carabao to the killers.

Generoso Baon, an official of Malabog, told the GMA-7 news program Testigo that the bandits had been running amok after Mayor Rodrigo Duterte announced a bounty for their capture.

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